Meet Ornella
Ornella Gigante is an AI specialist, full‑stack developer, and former teacher‑in‑training who now leads MindyCore, the EdTech studio she founded to bring empathy and emotional intelligence into digital learning. MindyCore is an Estonian company working across Europe, building tools that make technology feel approachable, human, and deeply connected to the people it serves. Her path spans classrooms, service work across several countries, online communities, and the unexpected world of content moderation: a mosaic of experiences that shaped her belief that tech should support people, not overwhelm them.
A Quiet Determination Behind the Screen
When you first meet Ornella, you notice how grounded and thoughtful she is: a calm, steady presence who combines sharp analytical thinking with a deep sense of care. Her focus on connection, clarity, and emotional wellbeing is present in the way she talks about why technology should never feel cold or distant.
“I absolutely love what I do, not as a slogan, but as a truth. I love being able to create tools that foster empathy, connection, and help people learn.”
She speaks about technology the way someone else might describe a childhood friend, with affection, curiosity, and trust. And maybe that’s because, for her, technology was never the goal. Connection was.
The Teacher Who Walked Away
Before code, before AI, before founding a company, Ornella imagined a life in a classroom. She studied to become a teacher but found herself overwhelmed not by the students, but by the adults around them.
“I decided to leave that path because dealing with parents terrified me, haha,”
she admits with a laugh that carries both humor and honesty.
So she stepped away, unsure where she was headed next, and began a chapter many might overlook: years spent working as a waitress across different countries. It was a life built on movement, new places, shifting languages, unfamiliar people, but it quietly sharpened her instincts for reading emotion, listening deeply, and understanding what makes people feel seen.
Eventually, she took her first and only “traditional job” as a content moderator. It was an unexpected door into a world she had yet to discover.
Where Technology and Humanity Met
Her time as a moderator, paired with the isolation of the pandemic, changed everything. She began to see technology not as something distant or complex, but as a bridge, a way for humans to stay connected in moments when the world felt uncertain and isolated.
“I realized how much good technology, when built with intention, can bring to people’s lives. It was a real eye-opening moment.”
During this period, the gamer in her, the part that loved storytelling, imagination, and digital worlds resurfaced. Friends from moderation introduced her to software development, and something clicked. She began studying multiplatform development, specialized in Android, and later pursued a master’s degree in AI, including generative AI.
But beneath all the technical skill she was gathering, something more personal was unfolding. Building educational products and games felt strangely familiar, as if she was returning to the part of teaching she once loved.
“A part of my former career as a teacher that was left unfinished.”
Rebuilding Education With Empathy at the Center
MindyCore was never just a business idea. It was the intersection of everything she cared about learning, technology, emotion, and a belief that digital tools should feel like companions, not barriers.
Her greatest challenge, she says, has always been helping people understand technology without fear or frustration.
“We’re taught that production is cold and strictly roadmap-driven, But we should always keep in mind the emotions behind the user experience.”
At MindyCore, this belief shapes everything. She leads with transparency, active listening, and softness qualities often overlooked in tech leadership. The team works like “a single cell,” as she describes it, where communication flows freely and intentions stay clear.
She is proud quietly, deeply proud of the team they’re building and the communities supporting their mission, including mentees from their free mentorship program. “I’m genuinely proud of all of us,” she says.
A Mission to Close the Gap Between People and Technology
MindyCore’s purpose is simple but radical: make technology accessible, meaningful, and emotionally intelligent. The team focuses on breaking the economic, generational, and social gap that keeps so many people on the outside of tech looking in.
They build educational tools and pedagogical games designed not just to teach, but to understand. To make someone feel safe. To meet learners where they are.
“For me, success happens when something we create helps relieve someone’s pain point, If it serves and supports someone, then it’s success.”
Her dream is even bigger, though:
“I want to create technology that truly bonds with people, technology with emotions that, more than just a tool, can become a companion and solve real problems.”
Looking Forward With Heart
Ornella imagines a future where technology feels less mechanical and more human where AI and education tools can read context, understand feelings, and offer connection as much as instruction. She hopes to continue shaping this future with the same intention she started with: empathy at the center, people at the heart.
Her inspiration remains rooted in community from the edtech world she admires, to the structure and creativity of Riot Games, to the love she receives from her partner, her team, and even her cat. These are the anchors that keep her grounded.
A Final Note on What Matters
When asked what advice she carries forward, her answer is simple and deeply human:
“Listen to your team, be human in your work, cherish your loved ones, and never stop moving forward.”
In a world racing to build faster, smarter systems, Ornella is quietly pushing toward something different technology that feels, technology that listens, technology that cares. And in many ways, she is finishing the teaching journey she once left behind just in a new language.
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